During the worst of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, I wondered whether the media was reporting the full extent of the lawless violence in New Orleans. That kind of frightful story, after all, isn’t as heart-wrenching and charity-inspiring as that of the desperate plight of thousands of innocent people victimized by slow government. However, I figured that the media is self-absorbed enough to diligently report any attacks upon them. Apparently, I was wrong. This first-hand account from a Reuters reporter suggests that the violence was far more widespread than reported at the time — and often directed at the well-stocked media convoys.

Here’s a bit of the flavor:

I’ve covered dozens of natural disasters around the globe, from mudslides and floods in Europe to hurricanes and tornadoes in the United States. I always considered the assignments somewhat dangerous but not extremely so, because if you know what you are doing you can easily minimize the danger — actually control your situation.

Not so in New Orleans, where after one day of covering a storm and its aftermath I found myself covering a human tragedy of enormous proportions, compounded by a blatant criminal element bent on taking advantage of a very bad situation.

Looting is almost always found in the initial hours after a storm — particularly if the area hit is a poorer neighborhood. But armed gangs riding in pick-up trucks, shots being fired from the ground at military rescue helicopters overhead and media vehicles being hijacked are not things you expect.

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